Veiled Omen
by KourtTears
Summary: It wasn’t until the next day that he remembered. It wasn’t until after his troop, his friends, had died. After he had tried to save her and failed.


Title: Veiled Omen Author: KourtTears  
Spoilers: specifically for Sateda; it is a future-fic though  
Pairing: Ronon/Elizabeth  
Disclaimer: If I owned SGA trust me when I say things would be a lot different.  
Summary: _It wasn't until the next day that he remembered. It wasn't until after his troop--his friends--had died. After he had gone to the hospital to get Melena. After he had tried to save her and failed._  
A/N: I'm not too fond of this story but I thought I would share anyway. I was in a really weird mood when I wrote it so please keep that in mind. Oh, and the tense sounds weird to me…just so you know. Oh, and you get a cookie if you can guess what mythical creature I warped for this story. Written for the sgaflashfic community on Livejournal.

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Ronon looks down at the woman lying in his bed. He raises his hand and brushes a piece of hair out of her face. With her hair curling around her face and her cheeks flushed she reminds Ronon of a Shan…a myth told and retold around the barracks Sateda. As he runs his thumb back and forth over her cheek he allows the memory of his first night in the barracks wash over him. 

He remembers the smells of the fire outside and the cleaning solution they had used to clean out what would be their home for the foreseeable future. He remembers the shadows that passed in front of the doors and windows that belonged to the third year recruits who walked the complex to deter sneaking out. He remembers the sounds of the other recruits whispering and moving about. He remembers wanting the others to just _be quiet _so he could sleep and get ready for the next day. The day which he knew would be more difficult than anything he had ever woken to before.

And then he remembers Nasvin, the biggest recruit in his class, getting everyone's attention. Nasvin was arrogant and Ronon remembers wanting to show him that bigger doesn't always equal better (of course after Ronon became the biggest recruit he had to admit that it did have its merits). At that time though Ronon was just happy that the others had finally stopped making so much noise.

He remembers almost falling asleep and then hearing Nasvin start telling the other recruits about the Shan.

" _My fathers says there are a race of women-like creatures called the Shan who take over a woman…like go into her body and control her…and, in this guise, visit a soldier. Only on the night before battle. My father says these possessed women are so beautiful they make the soldiers forget all about their training…he said the soldiers were lucky to remember their own names. That's the problem though, because when a soldier forgets his training, just for a minute we all know what happens…remember what we learned today? 'A soldiers' training is their most valuable tool and if a soldier forgets it for just a second--'"_

"_--They die!"_

"_Right, they die even if they aren't in battle…now be quiet! I'm telling the story. Anyway, the soldiers forget their training and my father says that on the battlefield the soldiers were always killed. My father says that these Shan posses the women and visit the soldiers because they could see what would happen on the battlefield."_

"_So what you're saying is that these men are visited and then they die?" Reeves, Nasvin's little lackey, said. Poor boy, he was so naïve. _

_Nasvin thought so as well, "No you idiot, the Shan visit the soldiers and make the soldiers' last night unforgettable…if you know what I mean…do you honestly think that beauty is enough to make a soldier forget?"_

"_Well…"_

"_No you moron, it's what the Shan do with that beauty that make the soldiers forget their training…"_

_And insert the snickering and chuckles, Ronon thought as he rolled his eyes. "Hey, do you all think you could be quiet and go to sleep? We've got a long day tomorrow." The other recruits groaned but _finally_ there was silence in the barracks. As he was falling asleep he couldn't help but ask himself what a Shan might look like…_

It would only take 13 years before Ronon got an answer to his silent question. He and Melena had been together for a little over year when the first darts came through the gate and were shot down. He knew it was only the beginning and so did she.

The night before the final battle for Sateda would begin (and end) Melena came to him. He still remembers every detail about her that night. How the white dress looked draped across her figure, how her curls were pinned on the top of her head, how her cheeks were flushed, how she smelled of that small violet flower that grew on the edge of his property that he could never remember the name of…

By the end of the night the name of a flower was the least important of the things Ronon forgot. And before the night was over Ronon had completely forgotten about what he would be forced to do the next day. He had forgotten about everything but her.

It wasn't until the next day that he remembered. It wasn't until after his troop--his friends--had died. After he had gone to the hospital to get Melena. After he had tried to save her and failed. After she had refused to leave. It wasn't until his world ended that he would remember his first night in the barracks and the story of the Shan.

Looking back on it now his memory of that last night has soft edges and a dreamlike quality to it. He looks back on it and remembers the Shan and he is absolutely convinced that Nasvin and the others who passed this story on were wrong.

The omen that the Shan are said to represent isn't for the death of her soldier but the death of herself. Ronon believes this theory was confirmed the next day when his beautiful Melena--his beautiful Shan--was reduced to ashes. He knows that Melena's death was terrible, but honestly he is almost glad she died instantly instead of being found and fed on by the Wraith. Maybe that was the purpose of the Shan. Maybe they came to the soldiers because they were choosing one death over another.

Ronon only has these thoughts late at night and only when he is almost certain he will not make it through the night. He knows that the Shan are just a myth (and even if they weren't they ceased to exist when Sateda ceased to exist) but that myth was what helped him survive when he was a Runner. The myth that maybe the Shan knew what was happening and chose to have their last night mean something. That they chose to die along with the others of their world and not exist in a broken world.

The woman in his bed moves against him and Ronon fell out of his reverie. He runs his over her hair to try and calm her down. She makes a little mewling noise and then moves closer to him. He smirks and wraps his arm around her waist and pulls her closer.

She is beautiful and Ronon knows how lucky he is to have her choose him. He also knows that this night was very much like a night he only remembers with soft edges. This night is as real as the night from a lifetime ago. This time though he remembers the story of the Shan as soon as she comes to his door. This time the story will haunt him all throughout the night and the next day. This time though he promises himself that it will be different.

He is certain that things will end right this time. He knows that this woman is nothing like Melena, but that is to be expected because he is not the Ronon that was with Melena; that loved Melena. This woman is strong and proud and will do what she must to stop the Wraith. She is a fighter and a leader. Melena was a healer. He is different now though and he is comforted by this fact. He is stronger and he is determined make sure they will both survive the battle tomorrow.

He looks down at the woman cuddled up to his side and is grateful that the Shan are just myths (or maybe they weren't but they are not on Atlantis and that is good enough for him). He won't be able to bear it if he has to look back and remember this night with soft edges. Actually, he is pretty sure that if this night never ends he will be happy.

The sound of her alarm startles him and he curses. He can feel her heartbeat speed up and her breaths come faster and he knows that whatever hope he had of this night never ending is gone. After she rolls onto her back he leans down to kiss her forehead, "Good Morning, Elizabeth."

"Good Morning, Ronon."

As they get dressed he thinks about the Shan and he knows that even if they were real there is no way they can be on Atlantis. It does little to comfort him though and when he kisses her one more time and they go to face the day, to face the Wraith, he is still thinking about omens. When they split up, her to the control room and him to the jumper bay, he is still thinking about omens and death. When he fights though, when he kills one Wraith and then another and when he sees one hive ship fall after another, he is only thinking about Elizabeth and how she will be there waiting for him when he gets back.


End file.
